With a degree in business management and from a family of entrepreneurs like her partner Stéphan Dolbec, Josée Petitclerc gets excited when she talks about terroir, food autonomy and regions. The couple and seven partners run Patates Dolbec head on: today it is the largest producer and packer of potatoes in Eastern Canada. Quite a legacy to promote for the leader and grandson of the Dolbec lineage who has the wind in his sails.

A happy meeting

While their general manager at Dolbec, Hugo d'Astous, and his wife Pascale Vaillancourt were returning from yet another wine and spirits tourism trip to Eastern Europe, an idea germinated. Tubers also grow there. And what do they do with them? Vodka! "A crazy dream and the happy meeting of project and spirits enthusiasts," smiles Josée. They had been talking about it for seven years. The idea clicked in 2018 and we put together the business plan in 2019." The distillery is based on Dolbec's declassified potatoes. The two couples launched a start-up together as a logical next step. A real synergy has taken place.

Nothing is lost, everything is transformed

The avenues for potatoes are clear: the table, processing, animal feed or the trash. "Since the sale of our 8,000-head cattle farm in 2019, we no longer had any use for downgraded, mechanically injured or less attractive potatoes," explains Josée. "But they're still good!" Clearly in love with her potatoes, Josée had to find a market for them.

With the distillery project, the tubers are sent to be grated and heated in a mash tun; the potato grits then go to the fermentation tank and stills for distillation. No other inputs are added. The spent grain, the residue, is spread on the fields to fertilize. With 10,000 acres of land, including 4,000 for growing potatoes, and 6,000 in rotation to protect the soil, the company is taking its thinking about the circular economy and zero waste further. “We do one year of potatoes and two years of cereals or green manure,” explains Josée. “Which means that we will soon be able to make gin or whisky from cereals!” The company has planned for this with a third still.

“Making vodka with potatoes, only we could be that crazy! It’s important that everything is produced here from A to Z, right up to bottling. That’s what sets us apart. There are seven or eight of us in Quebec who produce our base alcohol instead of buying it in Ontario or elsewhere. It’s expensive and very demanding, but we get a pure and stable product that we’re proud of.”

Innovation

At Patates Dolbec, the packaging systems are at the cutting edge of technology. At Ubald too. The four friends are keen to understand everything and master the complete production cycle. The warehouse reserved for potatoes was quickly transformed into a distillery. Hugo had a continuous still imported from Italy, a special type that preserves the texture and distinctive character of each raw material. There was no question of skimping on quality. The distillery is the only one in Quebec to have one. “The Italian installer couldn’t come because of Covid, so it was our colleagues at Patates Dolbec who did the installation, wiring, welding, plans in hand, Italian supplier by videoconference!” says Josée. “We’re like a big family here, everyone is very proud of this project.”

“The regions are fun !”

The product will be on shelves in the spring, a good time considering that sales of Quebec spirits at the SAQ jumped 79% in 2020 compared to 2019 , the strongest growth according to the Union des Microdistilleries du Québec . Route 363 by Ubald Distillerie will be the first 100% Quebec potato vodka. It is also the name of the road that saw the birth of Patates Dolbec and which passes through the municipality of Sainte-Ubalde. This demystifies the name of the distillery. "We wanted to put our community on the map !" proclaims Josée, with great pride. The regions are fun ! There is talent here in Portneuf and in Mauricie right next door. We want to show that entrepreneurship in our regions can help everyone grow. We are a corner of the country of talented people to discover." Next step? Agritourism. The Ubald Distillery store will open its doors this summer with derivative products, guided tours, direct alcohol sales and of course, tastings.